Quebecers are leaving the province in numbers not seen for more than a decade, a trend some observers are blaming in part on a visceral public debate about immigrant accommodation.

According to Statistics Canada data, there has been a recent spike in migration to other provinces not seen since the 1995 Quebec referendum on sovereignty.

In 2006-2007, 41,831 people moved out of Quebec, while 26,263 settled in the province — a net loss of 15,568 people.

For many people, economic opportunity pulls them away from Quebec, said Jack Jedwab, the head of the Association of Canadian Studies, a non-profit organization that promotes research in the field.

But the provincial debate over how to accommodate different cultural and religious beliefs is a factor that can't be ignored, Jedwab suggested on Monday.

"If they're watching a lot of the noise in the media, in what has been a very media-generated type of discussion, and seeing a lot of negative commentary arising out of that, directed at religious minorities and immigrants on issues of immigration and assimilation — I believe that might be factored into some of their thinking," he said in an interview with the CBC.

Recent controversies

The public discourse about assimilation was spurred by recent cases including a contentious code of conduct for immigrants adopted last winter by a small central Quebec town.

The Hérouxville controversy was followed by bitter debate about whether Muslim women should have the right to wear a veil while voting. 

This fall, a provincial commission on immigrant accommodation is holding hearings across Quebec, in which many Quebecers have made inflammatory comments about other cultures and religions.

And earlier in October, the Parti Québécois introduced legislation that would prevent immigrants from running for office if they can't pass a French test.

Many feel unwelcome, Montreal group says

The Montreal Centre for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR) believes the heated debate on Quebec identity is making many feel unwelcome in the province.

"They are leaving because they don't fully belong here," said CRARR director Fo Niemi. "There's also the feeling that they won't be able to achieve and go as far professionally, because of who they are. So there's a feeling of a glass ceiling."

But many are simply seeking job opportunities in robust provinces such as Alberta.

Jean-François Morin left his home in Quebec City in 2006 to take a job as a framer in Edmonton.

"The money is good, but the life is high too," he told the CBC. "The apartment, the food, all is expensive here."

The high wages — and high demand for skilled workers — still override Alberta's increasingly expensive cost of living, he said.